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Show 1 I UINTAH BASIN STANDARD. December 29. 1992 - Page arrests, 100 felony charges 81 apron undercover ByK itioninthe fruit in Trials are lundup, Pres Riic ryln3'pay c signs CUP Bi Police Department; the Uintah County SherifTa Department; the WeberMorgan Narcotics Strike Force; Adult Probation and Parole; and Family Services (involved when both parenta in a family were ar- - B Mik, Ro Over 30 ftr the Central sed seriously dangerous t citizens would equate with IWi' l3. work touted hi, Novwnher fened bounty Sheriff Ri I Si- - :54Si5c,s?a PB?fthei3i. 1 Sj Years nator aaid forking 5 Utah to "WCMtohelD it. workontiP Top 10 where e bEldenr Ongoing issues dominate Basin concerns in 1992 individuals Tribal finances and human services would be s Residents ofDuchesne County overburdened if were and the Uintah Basin end 1992 allowed tribal enrollment' They By Karla Cox mixed-blood- 1 pacil unrinv stor kmaer redden ta ofDuchesne County were v untouched by the number of acci- - !k dental deaths during 1992. Near- fatalities added to the alarming ilatiaHfiltllitfifiUliulmifivtAVAn. der superstitiously ifthe Basin was on the dark side of an evil moon, The 1992 elections turned out to be the most eventful and, in many ways, unpredictable in memory. Record numbers of tenders for office made the races interesting but often confusing for many voters. Debates and mud-theslinging advertising left many dis-enchanted with some candidates; the interest of others in the politi-- 1 cal process was piqued by creative advertising and seven digit cam- paign budgets. Close results in the presidential race as well as local and state posi-ar- e tions will keep most people tuned in to political issues for some time to come. & were included on tribal roles until jfacingmanyiseueethatwerenudar concerns when theyear began. The 1966, when the Ute Termination Standards choice of top 10 news Act was enacted. stories for the outgoing year deal The signing of the CUP Au- I with water, Indian and mixed blood thorixation Bill by President concerns, crime, fatalities, taxing; BushonNovemberSO, 1992, raised and politics-- all matters that con- - hopes for the completion of long- citizens over awaited water projects in the Basin an extended period of time, and and elsewhere in the state. indeed will continue to influence Though the bill is merely an lives well into 1993 and per- - approval to receive funding; and haps beyond. money mustbe obtained on ayearly Basin Roundup, the arrest of basis, all parties involved in the A about80 individuals byvarious law CUP agree that this particular leg- wPanfaKamanlumndMAii drnffiful islation, niriilanJfiiiirfilfwJim. explosives charges, took place in ing the past 3 years by Utahs del- April. Trials for the accused have egation, was theonly chance for the continued throughout the year, and completion of the Central Utah still underway. Project. The presidents signature Basin Roundup was the culmi- - kept the project from' permanent A nation ofliterally hundreds ofhours demise. of work by the Roosevelt and Ver-The Local interest and activity will "Robin Hood" d fee Inal Police Departments, the continue to be necessary in order, bill and Duchesrid'"arid rUTntah' County 'for'the UiAtah'Basiif fo derive iftwaivers'lcaiised alarming school Departments, the FBI, the just benefits from the CUP. In ad- - cussions in and other special agencies who dition, members of the Ute Tribe tricts, including Duchesne School participated in arrests andarraign- - will soon vote on the Ute Water District. The Robin Hood bill was state ment procedures. Compact, their portion of the mas- Undercover volunteers made the rive $922 million final package, legislation that took money from entire cleanup possible, officers say. The State Tax Commission districts with major industries (in Local agencies continue their ef-- revised its teeing method for our case, oil and gas) and J forts against drug traffic and atten- - oil and gas proparties, a move districts in communities w! dant crimes. many informed individuals conrid- - xens, not industry, paid When the State Supreme ered inevitable in light ofthe incon- - Surprisingly, the legislation Court handed down a decision ristencies in the former method, gave money to districts with heavy indirect diaagreementwith the The STCs change to the Discounted bonding indebtedness. The lull was highly controver-rulin- g 1985 10th CircuitFederal Court Cash Flow method saved affected on Ute Indian land Juris-- counties from lawsuits by oil cbm - rial; Duchesne District, while a big. $ diction, theBasinwasthrowninto panies who were angry over state loser originally, could end up a re-turmoil. The questions of which assessments that they considered ripient of the bill because the oil i 't . ir -- , Ck m . y ? so-call-ed court-mandate- reper-Sherif- small-budg- et Ts dis-BI- A, 'to. 'iTi again. Ute Tribe officials stepped for-ward to declare that the 10th Cir- euit dedaion was sufficient; state local offidals agreed to take no contrary to that ruling until the UB. Supreme Court, the ulti- matejudicial body, reviews the case that brought the issue to a head again; an Indian arrested within the perimeter ofa city (Myton) that lies within original reservation boundaries. The Clinton Ferank case, along with others of similar nature, await such high court review, and the Uintah Barin remains in relative uncertainty definitely. Related Mixed-Bloo- d issues also dominated the news scene in 1992, and will likely continue to be concern during the coming year, While the Ute Tribe has publicly pointed out that anyone with less than 68 blood quantum is not enrollable and not recognized by them as Indian, many mixed-blooare taking their disagreement to state courts. An Idaho attorney for Ken Higgins, several has pointed out that the Ute Tribe is me of 13 tribes that terminated members from their roles, and one of only two that have reopened enrollment to thoee i ed ds SeeteV Wjjj ma'n ftow a,0 i: . mixed-blood- s, percent, leaving the means of operating with lions less. mil-- schools,have taken a serious from activity ftinds Because there is no means ofrecap-an-d n turing the revenue lost when individuals whool dont tying pay, oflidal speculate that several pregrams may suffer or even die due to lack of sufficient funding Elec tricalshockdid notclaim Dnchesne County was forced to cut $350,000 from their 1992 budget, as a direct result of the State Tax Commissions changes, While officials were aware of the taxing issue when the budget was set, they expressed the belief that the shortfall would not be so huge, the lives of the Seeley family in and were unprepared for such Bluebell, nor thelivesoftwo youth in Montwel. But it could have, and Virtually avery county depart- - should have, if the laws of nature ment was affected by the budget had not been thwarted by a freak- - rowtfh toody- - w uvv v AV A 4TMi quali-actio- shortfall: some departments were to cut positions as well as fhnds, while others had spent their allotments and were unable to cut back this year. Hardest hit was the road department, whose yearly budget is easily the largest County commissioners fought the rule revision andhopedtoavoid such losses, but paybacks to oil and gas companies for past years com- plicated the issue further. The 1993 county budget will also be influ- enced by taxing issues. Fatalities during 1992 left citi-sens jarred and hinting. Several youth died in strange and seem- ingty avoidable accidents; vehicle collisions claimed the lives of indi-nviduals from all walks of life. Few - . iah detail in both incidents during 1992. In both cases, irrigation pipes were inadvertently raised into power lines overhead; in the Seeley familys case, enough power to op-- a erate Roosevelt surged through the pipe and to the ground, butanearby fence took most of the jolt In the Montwel youthscircumstances, the voltage was not as high, but the iiyuries were more severe, Moon LakeElectric officials have continually warned of the dangers of overhead power lines; they are hopeful that people will learn from in 1992, and the spect electricity, near-tragedi- es ot andXto1, tl 9 . u1AelHm1 V ! fv toy tesseo eade! ttoa , a V V to wir Cm- - s Jteb ws will respe'fjv,jjwt R S w.,.. ftasss Hit laMI- - city S |